With SāḷhaSāḷhasutta

At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the Great Wood, in the hall with the peaked roof.Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā vesāliyaṁ viharati mahāvane kūṭāgārasālāyaṁ. Then Sāḷha and Abhaya the Licchavis went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:Atha kho sāḷho ca licchavi abhayo ca licchavi yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho sāḷho licchavi bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

“There are, sir, some ascetics and brahmins who advocate crossing the flood by means of two things:“Santi, bhante, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā dvayena oghassa nittharaṇaṁ paññapenti— purification of ethics, and mortification in disgust of sin.sīlavisuddhihetu ca tapojigucchāhetu ca. What does the Buddha say about this?”Idha, bhante, bhagavā kimāhā”ti?

“Sāḷha, purification of ethics is one of the factors of the ascetic life, I say.“Sīlavisuddhiṁ kho ahaṁ, sāḷha, aññataraṁ sāmaññaṅganti vadāmi. But those ascetics and brahmins who teach fervent mortification in disgust of sin—regarding it as essential and sticking to it—are incapable of crossing the flood.Ye te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā tapojigucchāvādā tapojigucchāsārā tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, abhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. And those ascetics and brahmins whose livelihood and behavior by way of body, speech, and mind, is not pure are also incapable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening.Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā aparisuddhakāyasamācārā aparisuddhavacīsamācārā aparisuddhamanosamācārā aparisuddhājīvā, abhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya.

Suppose a man who wanted to cross a river took a sharp axe into a wood.Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, puriso nadiṁ taritukāmo tiṇhaṁ kuṭhāriṁ ādāya vanaṁ paviseyya. There he’d see a large green sal tree, straight and young and grown unskewed.So tattha passeyya mahatiṁ sālalaṭṭhiṁ ujuṁ navaṁ akukkuccakajātaṁ. He’d cut it down at the base,Tamenaṁ mūle chindeyya; cut off the top,mūle chetvā agge chindeyya; and completely strip off the branches and foliage.agge chetvā sākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodheyya; Then he’d trim it with axes andsākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodhetvā kuṭhārīhi taccheyya; machetes,kuṭhārīhi tacchetvā vāsīhi taccheyya; plane it,vāsīhi tacchetvā lekhaṇiyā likheyya; and sand it with a rock.lekhaṇiyā likhitvā pāsāṇaguḷena dhoveyya; Finally, he’d launch out on the river.pāsāṇaguḷena dhovetvā nadiṁ patāreyya.

What do you think, Sāḷha?Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, sāḷha, Is that man capable of crossing the river?”bhabbo nu kho so puriso nadiṁ taritun”ti?

“No, sir.“No hetaṁ, bhante”. Why not?“Taṁ kissa hetu”? Because that green sal tree is well worked on the outside, but inside it’s still not cleared out.“Asu hi, bhante, sālalaṭṭhi bahiddhā suparikammakatā anto avisuddhā. I’d expect that green sal tree to sink, and the man to come to ruin.”Tassetaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ—sālalaṭṭhi saṁsīdissati, puriso anayabyasanaṁ āpajjissatī”ti.

“In the same way, Sāḷha, those ascetics and brahmins who teach fervent mortification in disgust of sin—regarding it as essential and sticking to it—are incapable of crossing the flood.“Evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā tapojigucchāvādā tapojigucchāsārā tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, abhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. And those ascetics and brahmins whose livelihood and behavior by way of body, speech, and mind is not pure are also incapable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening.Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā aparisuddhakāyasamācārā aparisuddhavacīsamācārā aparisuddhamanosamācārā aparisuddhājīvā, abhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya.

But those ascetics and brahmins who don’t teach mortification in disgust of sin—not regarding it as essential or sticking to it—are capable of crossing the flood.Ye ca kho te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā na tapojigucchāvādā na tapojigucchāsārā na tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, bhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. And those ascetics and brahmins whose behavior by way of body, speech, and mind is pure are also capable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening.Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā parisuddhakāyasamācārā parisuddhavacīsamācārā parisuddhamanosamācārā parisuddhājīvā, bhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya.

Suppose a man who wanted to cross a river took a sharp axe into a wood.Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, puriso nadiṁ taritukāmo tiṇhaṁ kuṭhāriṁ ādāya vanaṁ paviseyya. There he’d see a large green sal tree, straight and young and grown unskewed.So tattha passeyya mahatiṁ sālalaṭṭhiṁ ujuṁ navaṁ akukkuccakajātaṁ. He’d cut it down at the base,Tamenaṁ mūle chindeyya; cut off the top,mūle chinditvā agge chindeyya; and completely strip off the branches and foliage.agge chinditvā sākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodheyya; Then he’d trim it with axes andsākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodhetvā kuṭhārīhi taccheyya; machetes.kuṭhārīhi tacchetvā vāsīhi taccheyya; Then he’d take a chisel and completely clear it out inside.vāsīhi tacchetvā nikhādanaṁ ādāya anto suvisodhitaṁ visodheyya; Then he’d plane it,anto suvisodhitaṁ visodhetvā lekhaṇiyā likheyya; sand it with a rock,lekhaṇiyā likhitvā pāsāṇaguḷena dhoveyya; and make it into a boat.pāsāṇaguḷena dhovetvā nāvaṁ kareyya; Finally he’d fix it with oars and rudder,nāvaṁ katvā phiyārittaṁ bandheyya; and launch out on the river.phiyārittaṁ bandhitvā nadiṁ patāreyya.

What do you think, Sāḷha?Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, sāḷha, Is that man capable of crossing the river?”bhabbo nu kho so puriso nadiṁ taritun”ti?

“Yes, sir.“Evaṁ, bhante”. Why is that?“Taṁ kissa hetu”? Because that green sal tree is well worked on the outside, cleared out on the inside, made into a boat, and fixed with oars and rudder.“Asu hi, bhante, sālalaṭṭhi bahiddhā suparikammakatā, anto suvisuddhā nāvākatā phiyārittabaddhā. I’d expectTassetaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ: that boat to not sink, and the man to safely make it to the far shore.”‘nāvā na saṁsīdissati, puriso sotthinā pāraṁ gamissatī’”ti.

“In the same way, Sāḷha, those ascetics and brahmins who don’t teach fervent mortification in disgust of sin—not regarding it as essential or sticking to it—are capable of crossing the flood.“Evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā na tapojigucchāvādā na tapojigucchāsārā na tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, bhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. And those ascetics and brahmins whose behavior by way of body, speech, and mind is pure are also capable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening.Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā parisuddhakāyasamācārā parisuddhavacīsamācārā parisuddhamanosamācārā parisuddhājīvā, bhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya. Suppose there was a warrior who knew lots of fancy archery tricks.Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo bahūni cepi kaṇḍacitrakāni jānāti; It is only with these three factors that he becomes worthy of a king, fit to serve a king, and is reckoned a factor of kingship.atha kho so tīhi ṭhānehi rājāraho hoti rājabhoggo, rañño aṅganteva saṅkhaṁ gacchati. What three?Katamehi tīhi? He’s a long-distance shooter, a marksman, and one who shatters large objects.Dūrepātī ca, akkhaṇavedhī ca, mahato ca kāyassa padāletā.

Just as a warrior is a long-distance shooter,Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo dūrepātī; a noble disciple has right immersion.evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ariyasāvako sammāsamādhi hoti. A noble disciple with right immersion truly sees any kind of form at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: <em>all</em> form—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’Sammāsamādhi, sāḷha, ariyasāvako yaṁ kiñci rūpaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ ajjhattaṁ vā bahiddhā vā oḷārikaṁ vā sukhumaṁ vā hīnaṁ vā paṇītaṁ vā yaṁ dūre santike vā sabbaṁ rūpaṁ ‘netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti evametaṁ yathābhūtaṁ sammappaññāya passati. They truly see any kind of feeling …Yā kāci vedanā … perception …yā kāci saññā … choices …ye keci saṅkhārā … consciousness at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: <em>all</em> consciousness—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’yaṁ kiñci viññāṇaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ ajjhattaṁ vā bahiddhā vā oḷārikaṁ vā sukhumaṁ vā hīnaṁ vā paṇītaṁ vā yaṁ dūre santike vā, sabbaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti evametaṁ yathābhūtaṁ sammappaññāya passati.

Just as a warrior is a marksman,Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo akkhaṇavedhī; a noble disciple has right view.evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti. A noble disciple with right view truly understands: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’.Sammādiṭṭhi, sāḷha, ariyasāvako ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti.

Just as a warrior shatters large objects,Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo mahato kāyassa padāletā; a noble disciple has right freedom.evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ariyasāvako sammāvimutti hoti. A noble disciple with right freedom shatters the great mass of ignorance.”Sammāvimutti, sāḷha, ariyasāvako mahantaṁ avijjākkhandhaṁ padāletī”ti.